Who pastors share their struggles with
Percent of evangelical and Black Protestant pastors, by person they confide in, 2025 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Spouse (74%). Lowest: Bible study group in their church (29%).
- Spouse: 74%
- Another pastor: 60%
- Close friend: 60%
Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors Have Increasingly Complicated Relationship With Counseling · Mixed-mode survey of 1,516 evangelical and Black Protestant pastors, April 1 - May 8, 2025. Article published 2025-07-01.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Spouse (74%). Lowest: Bible study group in their church (29%). Spouse: 74%. Another pastor: 60%. Close friend: 60%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2025. Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors Have Increasingly Complicated Relationship With Counseling (https://research.lifeway.com/2025/07/01/pastors-have-increasingly-complicated-relationship-with-counseling/).
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About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.